This article is about the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. For the revolution that took place between 1905 and 1911. demonstrationagainst the Shah commenced in October 1977, developing into a campaign of civil resistance that was partly secular and partly religious,[9]and intensified in January 197. Iran was an overly centralized royal power structure state, which was heavily protected by a lavishly financed army and security services. By 1976, the shah had accumulated upward of one billion dollars from oil revenue; his family—including sixty-three princes and princesses—had accumulated between five and twenty billion dollars; and the family foundation controlled approximately three billion dollars. For the past several years, the possibility of a war involving Iran against one or more Western nations has remained within the realm of possibility. Iran's quest for nuclear power, and, many experts believe, a goal of acquiring nuclear weapons, has worried many nations.